Black Girls, Schooling, and Repressed Joy

• In Event: Disaster Schooling to Joyous Schooling for BIPOC Students

Abstract

In a case-study with Black high-school girls, I investigated the infrastructures and policies that hindered their joy. The research questions for the study were: (1) What aspects of schooling do Black girls describe as hindering their joy? (2) What solutions do Black girls propose to make schooling a more joyous experience for them? The findings indicated that joy was stifled because: there was a lack of autonomy that participants had in making decisions that impacted them; participants were unable to see the relevance of the curriculum to their lives; and there were no systematic ways to support students’ holistic wellness at the school. Learning alongside Black girls about what can make schooling more joyful has the aptitude for remedy.

Author

• Sophia Sunshine Vilceus, University of Delaware